Welcome to the Port Townsend Yacht Club (PTYC). We are located at 2503 Washington Street in the picturesque Victorian seaport of Port Townsend, Washington – the gateway to cruising in Puget Sound from Olympia and Seattle, to the San Juan Islands, the Canadian Gulf Islands, and north through the Inside Passage to Alaska. From here you can boat to some of the most spectacular places in the world. Our club is active throughout the year with cruises, seminars, socials and meetings. We welcome new members, visiting boaters via our reciprocal program, and community members with an interest in boating. Enjoy our website!

It seems only a month ago that I was writing my first article and now I am working on my last.

First, let’s talk about the election. No, not that one! The other one!!! We congratulate Commodore-Elect Duane Madinger, Vice Commodore-Elect Jess Schefstrom, Rear Commodore-Elect Lee Hoffman, Fleet Captain-Elect Debbie Williams, Secretary-Elect Christina Pivarnik, Treasurer-Elect Jim Pivarnik and Trustee-Elect Dale Moses on their election to the 2017 Board and thank them for their willingness to serve. We also thank Trustees Bill Taylor and Tom Thurston for their continued service into 2017. This will be a great Board!

Remember that our Board works for you!

As we get busy preparing for the coming holidays, let’s take a moment to look back at the year to date. Our many successes include: Monthly cruises and events; Opening Day activities; Interesting guest speakers during our General Meetings; Earth Day Cleanup at Fort Flagler; Informative Seminars; Good Scholarship Awards and a garage sale that positions us for a good award effort for 2017; Getting our foot in the door for possible increased future support of the annual Race to Alaska (R2AK); PTYC Bylaws updates; Establishment of a very active Clubhouse Expansion Exploratory Committee (CHEEC); Implementation of the new Investment Policy and establishment of the Investment Committee and Facility maintenance, repairs and improvements— to name just a few.

None of this just happens . . . All of this is the result of an active, interested and dedicated membership.

Remaining events include the Holiday Party at the clubhouse and the Holiday Theater Party at the Key City Public Theater. The final cruise of the year is the Holiday Cruise to Bell Harbor.

Finally, my thanks to all of you for this great year. Your good work exemplifies your character. Our voyage is nearing its end as we prepare to enter port. We will soon set the in-port watch and transfer the flag to the new flagship, Brevity.

As we speed toward November, I’m forced to ask “wait, what…when…how..?” Seriously, our good year continues, so let’s talk about PTYC’s remarkable membership.

A new cycle begins. We successfully concluded our 2016 garage sale despite bad weather. The sale resulted in the addition of $1,800.02 to the PTYC Scholarship Fund and is the first step towards the 2017 Scholarship Awards. The Scholarship Committee is already talking about ideas for the 2017 campaign. As you will see later in this newsletter, a great many people were involved in the garage sale. There was no shortage of volunteers. Activities included, but were not limited to setting up tables, removing sale material from storage and sorting it, testing electric items, pricing, traffic control, conducting the sale, break-down and cleanup. I was privileged to see the effort that goes into setting up for the sale. Work was carried out efficiently and effectively. As always, everyone worked together with dedication, fellowship and good humor.

The Port Hadlock Bonfire Cruise was successfully completed. Remaining events include the Halloween Party, Crab Feed and the Holiday Party. The final cruise of the year is the Holiday Cruise to Bell Harbor. The march of time is on a dead run, so if you are interested in any of these, please sign up at your earliest convenience. The Event and Cruise Captains will thank you.

“Watch the Quiet Ones!” This one will be a departure from past efforts in that I am not calling out specific individuals in this newsletter. I’ve spent time in the September newsletter and at the last 2 General Meetings, talking about the upcoming elections for the 2017 Board. A Fellow Member recently reminded me that many members may not be aware of all of the people who work quietly and consistently to keep things working. I wish to recognize all of the members of our Standing Committees. You will find that list in your 2016 Roster. These are the people who keep things moving and deserve much of the credit for this Club’s success. I am in the process of updating the list since there have been changes since the Roster was published. I will forward the new list as soon as I am finished. In the meantime, please join me in thanking all Standing Committee members for their dedication to our success.

It’s been a good year so far and it isn’t over yet. We still have a number of things on the calendar—not the least of which is the Garage Sale, which is the source of funding for our Scholarship Program. The sale occurs in mid October. Muriel Powers is once again coordinating this effort. If you want to help with the sale or donate items to sell, contact Muriel. Please note that we’ve reached the limit of what we can store in the Clubhouse. If you have items for the sale, you may be asked to hold them until just before the sale. (see page 11)

The Blake Island Cruise was just successfully completed. Remaining Cruises and Events include the Port Hadlock Bonfire Cruise, Halloween Party, Crab Feast, Bell Harbor Cruise, Holiday Party and Holiday Social. As always, you will be able to sign up for them online.

Finally, the U.S. Navy will soon celebrate its 241st Anniversary. It was established during the Revolutionary War as the Continental Navy on 13 October 1775. The Navy has stood in defense of this nation throughout its history and has included leaders such as Jones, Dewey, Perry, Leahy, King, Nimitz and Halsey. Let’s recognize this important part of our maritime history.